This invention relates generally to methods and systems for backing up computer data in computer systems, and more particularly to the classification of client computers into different groups for backup of the clients.
Computer systems store data that is unique and often critical, and, if lost, would frequently be expensive, difficult or impossible to replace. The data is normally stored on hard disks or other storage devices which are subject to the possibility of failure. Additionally, data may also be lost by theft, fire or other disaster, and frequently the data lost is permanent. Accordingly, backup methods and systems have been developed to maintain controlled redundancy of data to enable data to be recovered in the event of a disaster and to avoid or minimize the loss of the data.
Backup systems copy source data from a computer source storage volume to backup media so that if the original source data is lost, it may be restored from the backup copy. Since data in a computer system is continuously being created or modified, it is important that backup be performed frequently to ensure that the backup copy of the data is current. Most backup in large systems is batch-oriented and performed at predetermined times during a backup window, such as at night when the computer system is not being used for normal processing operations. In computer systems having a plurality of interconnected computers, such as a network, one computer, referred to as a backup computer or a backup server, may manage the backup process and copy source data from the other interconnected computers on the network, referred to as backup client computers or simply as “clients”, to backup media. The backup server executes a backup software application that manages the backup process, and the client computers execute client backup software applications that cooperate with the backup server application and read source data from source volumes and forward the data to the backup server for backup.
Generally, a system administrator must install the client backup software application on each client machine and assign an access password to the machine. Passwords are necessary to authenticate clients, and used to ensure that an unauthorized or another copy of backup server software does not obtain access to the client's data. The access passwords must then be logged into the backup server so that the backup server can subsequently access the clients for backup. In enterprises having many different clients, it is a time-consuming and burdensome process to install the client backup software application on each client machine, assign a password, and then log the password for the client machine with the backup server. The administrator must physically go to each client machine to manually install the client software and to log each password with the backup server. In large enterprises, new clients are continually being added to the network, and this imposes a continuing burden on administrators of repeating the backup software installation process for each new machine.
Additionally, since different clients on a network typically store and process different kinds of source data, have different activities, and perform different functions, they may have quite different backup requirements. For example, desktop computers may have different backup requirements from mobile computers, such as laptops, and servers may have different backup requirements from either desktops or laptops. Moreover, the computers in one business group or unit of an enterprise, e.g., finance, engineering, executive management, etc., may have different backup requirements than those in another business unit or in another location. Individual users may have individual backup requirements.
In order to accommodate these varying backup requirements, administrators either must set up an individual backup policy tailored to the particular client, or group the client with other clients that have similar backup requirements and assign an appropriate policy to the group. In either case, this typically must be done manually on a case-by-case basis, which imposes an additional burden on a systems administrator must when setting up clients.
Furthermore, large enterprises typically have a number of geographically separated sites, each having its own local area network (“LAN”) connected to an enterprise wide area network (“WAN”), and each LAN having its own local backup server for backing up clients on that LAN. Frequently, mobile clients, such as laptop computers, travel between the different sites and connect to local LANs. When a visiting mobile client connects temporarily to such a local LAN, and is authenticated for backup on that LAN, it is desirable to also apply the appropriate backup policy to that client. This involves the same manual setup burdens and inconveniences on an administrator as encountered during initial setup of the client, as discussed above.
It is desirable to provide backup systems and methods which address the foregoing and other problems of conventional backup approaches and that facilitate classification of clients into groups according to their backup requirements so that appropriate backup policies may be applied. It is to these ends that the present invention is directed.